Page 139 of Vespertine
“He checked himself back into the ‘health spa.’ I told him I’dcome visit him on Monday and let him know what’s going on. The guy’s a mess,and I can’t say I blame him.”
Nicky remembered the bloody mouth Mick had given Sez, thekiss they’d shared, and the horrible tension at the end. “He must blamehimself.”
“You know it.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to make good records. And we’ll make ‘em whenwe’re good and ready. Not this month, or next month, or even two months fromnow. We’ll get ourselves healed up for real this time, Nicky. Then we’ll headinto the studio and make something worthy of what we’ve lost, okay?”
“Of who we’ve lost.”
“Damn straight, pretty boy.” She sniffled a little. “Listen,I need to go. I’ve got to practice for some drum-art thing I’m doing for aperformance artist I’ve been seeing.” She sounded a little embarrassed.
“Performance artist? Really?”
“Shut up. The guy’s a fruit-loop but he’s good in bed.” Shelaughed. “He should do his next performance piece on cunnilingus, to be honest.Just line the women up in the art gallery, lay ‘em out on a bed one at a time,and make them come.”
“He’s that good, huh?”
“I wouldn’t do this dumb shit for just anyone, Nicky. Buthis tongue should be given a gold medal. Otherwise, he’s an idiot. But, fuckit, good orgasms are hard to come by.” She sighed. “I don’t know why you’regiving me shit, though. You’re fucking a priest. Tell him hello from me.”
“I may have to wash that hello before I pass something fromthat dirty mouth of yours over to him.”
“Oh please, you’ve filthified him entirely by now, if I knowyou. And, Nicky? I know you.”
“Guilty.”
Jasper looked up from where he sat across the sofa, makingnotes in some kind of calendar. “Tell her hello,” he said.
“My priest says hello.”
Jasper scoffed. “I’m not a priest anymore, Nicky.”
“And he says he’s not a priest.”
“Tell me he saved the collar, though. Please. For the love ofall that is holy, promise me you’ll role-play that in bed, Nico Blue.”
Nicky grinned. “I solemnly pinky swear, Ramona Darling.”
Hanging up the phone, Nicky moved to kneel at Jasper’s feet.“Guess what?”
“I don’t know.” Darkness passed over his face. “You don’thave to go back do you?”
“Mick’s funeral is Friday and I should be there for that.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I’d love it if you would. It’d mean a lot. But after that,I’m free. For as long as you want me to be free, and for as long as I want tobe free too. Ramona’s getting us out of the contracts with the record company.”
“How?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just…right now, I want to know…”
Jasper touched his cheek. “What? Anything at all.”
“Will you be okay with having sappy, adoring love songswritten about you?”
Jasper grinned, his face like the sun. “I might need asample in order to say for certain.”
